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Introduction
In this new review, we are going to visit the grim world of Gallowmere, in this game you play as the would-be hero Sir Daniel Fortesque if only he did not have the worst luck in the world! Zarok is an evil wizard that tried to take over Gallowmere but despite Sir Daniel Fortesque’s failure, the evil wizard was defeated. is the game already over?

We travel 100 years into the future when Zarok returns to try and take over the world once again but this time there are no heroes around to stop Zarok as he summons the undead and steals the souls of the living. Through a twist of fate, Sir Daniel Fortesque is brought back to life, he is the only person that can stop Zarok once and for all but nobody has confidence in him that he can pull it off. The remake has gorgeous graphics and some new features while not striving to far from the original game, some of the new features include more replay value and the dan cam. If you start this game it might be wise to know that this game has old school difficulty, this means that if you die at the end of the level before the exit you will need to restart the whole level, no checkpoints for you! As you cannot level up you need to learn how the game works to get better but it might also help to find better equipment or more life bottles for more health bars!

What did I think before playing Medieval Remake?
I used to play the original Medieval when I was only around six years old, those zombies looked real and scared me back then but it helped that I could chop them into pieces. (maybe I was too young for this game.)
This game was very difficult when I played it for the first time and it was always a wish of me to replay the game but when I learned that there was a remake I was already sold.
Just as I was preparing to buy this game, I got it for Christmas! I and my wife immediately decided to play this game since I could remember that the game uses a lot of funny dry humor and witty remarks.

I wonder how much the game would stray from the original because it has been ages since the original Medieval was released,( the original Medieval released way back in 1998!) we decided beforehand that we wanted to obtain all the trophies!
I looked up a trailer while the game was installing on the PS4 and I was amazed at what they have achieved, I looked up the comparison pictures and my excitement for playing the game went through the roof!
Once again I was going to embark on an adventure with Sir Daniel Fortesque, the jawless hero ( maybe he does not talk much since he is missing his lower jaw!) but this time, I was going on this adventure with my wife!
My wife never played the game and I got her excited to play it, only hearing the story of what I remember from ages past she was already interested, she is a true game, of course, she cannot refuse to play a new game!
This is how I remembered Medieval from way back when I was a young kid!

I rate Medieval Remake with a 9.0 before playing.
I like remakes better than remasters, in my opinion, a remake holds much more merit since it has to be build up from the ground. This usually means that the team working on the game pays more attention to details and that the graphics look better!

Story
The story starts after Sir Daniel Fortesque’s death, the king has led the world to believe that he was one of the greatest heroes alive to inspire the people to fight against Zarok, the other heroes despise Sir Daniel Fortesque for having the hero status without showing true skills of a hero. When Zarok returns after 100 years, Sir Daniel Fortesque is resurrected and it seems that he is the only hope for Gallowmere. Sir Daniel Fortesque needs to prove his worth to the other heroes and defeat the evil wizard Zarok. It is going to be a tough journey, as long as Sir Daniel Fortesque does not release the shadow demons (the shadow demons are luckily sealed away, otherwise Zarok would have conquered the world already!) from their tomb he might even prevail in this troublesome undead quest!

I rate the story of Medieval with an 8.0
I liked the story very much and seeing it in better graphics brings the story even more alive, (pun intended.) this remains a great story to relive. Chances are high that this game is going on the staple of games that are going to be replayed one day!

Gameplay
I hope that you are up for the challenge as this game will test your mettle, death is guaranteed but can you keep your frustration? When you perish in this game you will need to restart from the beginning of a level, it might be wise to stock up on extra health bars but nonetheless, those enemies can shred your health bar in a few seconds! Sir Daniel Fortesque starts in his crypt where you can find some basic equipment and your first health bar upgrade. Picking up a life bottle will increase your health by 300, as you start with already 300 health and you can collect nine health bar upgrades you can reach a maximum of 3000 health. You will also find a basic sword and a shield in Sir Daniel Fortesque’s tomb. A new feature in the Medieval Remake is that you can equip two items at once, these can be toggled. We used one slot for a sword and the other slot for a ranged weapon. There are a plethora of weapons to find in Gallowmere. This is how the game looks now, I captured the same screen as I did in the old version!

You can also use a shield to block all incoming damage, you might think how can it be hard when you can block all incoming damage, you laugh in the face of danger and just raise your shield, you are invincible! The zombies charge you but your shield will protect you, right? The zombies shred your shield into pieces in around five seconds and now you are vulnerable! You should use the shield wisely as it can break very quickly!

Later in the game, you can find better shields but they can still get wrecked very fast, especially when fighting a boss. In each level you can fill a chalice, when the chalice is filled you can collect it. Every chalice that you collect will lead you to the hall of heroes, when bringing chalices, you can get neat rewards like a crossbow and better shields. Collecting many chalices is needed to gain the last health upgrade. One of the best weapons in the game is the magic sword, it is overpowered and can destroy a boss in mere minutes! There is also a secret level that you need to visit to get all the chalices, it is important to look in every nook and cranny while you are exploring the levels. Every mistake can cost you your life, there is also a bit of platforming in Medieval but if you fall into the abyss you will lose one full health bar! You can also find healing fountains, maybe this is what makes the game easy? Sorry to burst your bubble but the fountains only heal around 450 health points before disappearing!

After you have completed the game and defeated Zarok you can do a second playthrough, in this remake they added a new feature called the lost souls. In each level, you can find a lost soul but then you need to solve a riddle and figure out the right level, that is correct you need to deliver the lost soul on a different level! When you find the correct level you also need to find the special spot that the soul is referring to otherwise you cannot lay the soul to rest. When you have laid all the souls to rest you will unlock something neat. I am not spoiling the secret, you can torture me all you want!

I rate the gameplay of Medieval with an 8.0.
I like how much challenge the game gives you, I grew up with this difficulty, my wife had a little bit more trouble with this game as she started gaming later but nonetheless while taking turns we managed to finish the game in two days with all trophies gathered.

Sound and Graphics
The graphics are completely remade for the PS4 era and that shows, I love how I could finally relive one of my childhood memories in high definition. The overworld map has some aesthetic changes and a few routes are different.
The details in the overworld map are stunning, the levels are recreated perfectly and the enemies look great.
The sound effects are well crafted, I love the soundtracks that play at each level. I like the ghost ship level very much but the level is very hard!

I rate the sound and graphics with an 8.8!
This game is a perfect example of how a remake should be!

What did I think after playing Medieval Remake?
I and my wife went into a game binge event, we had a lot of fun while playing this game, we took turns while playing levels and searching for all the secrets and weapons.
We enjoyed a lot of the levels and the difficulty was indeed there but we tried to collect all the life bottles as we continued our journey.
There were many chalices to collect, 20 to be exact and sometimes we needed to do a level two times before finishing the level, in an odd example I swear I saw an apple with a hat.
You travel all over Gallowmere while hunting down Zarok and his minions, visiting the asylum was fun but the maze was a difficult one with difficult puzzles.
The game beat all my expectations, I was very glad that my wife enjoyed this game!

I rate Medieval with a 9.2 after playing.
If you like old-school difficulty then you will certainly enjoy Medieval Remake.

My personal rating
I don’t have anything to add to my personal rating.

My personal rating for Medieval is a 9.5

Pros
– This remake stays true to the original Medieval.
– There are a ton of new features like the ability to equip two weapons.
– You can do a second playthrough to find the lost souls and unlock something neat!
– There are many secrets in all nooks and crannies!
– This game is perfect for people that enjoy the old-school difficulty.
– The humor in Medieval is awesome and made us laugh many times!

Cons
– Enemies can kill you without using an attack animation.

I recommend Medieval Remake for anyone that is looking for a great challenge but expect some difficult puzzles and battles! We had a lot of fun when playing this game.

Let me know what you think about the game in the comments.
I hope you liked reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!

37 thoughts on “”

  1. Avatar

    Ah, DNF – snagged it on my birthday, and enjoyed it quite a bit, despite its glaring flaws.

    I think your review could do with a bit more polish. Most of it is spent summarizing the plot and talking about each and every weapon. I think what you should do is cover more things about the game, perhaps one topic per paragraph (plot, combat, multiplayer, graphics & soundtrack, etc.). Plus, the golden questions you should ask yourself are: what’s fun? What isn’t? What looks or sounds good, and what doesn’t? What works well and what feels shoddy or sloppy? Etc, etc. And, most importantly: *why?* Still, I really liked reading up on how enthusiastic you are for the game. More pictures per few paragraphs might suffice as well, and the bullet-points shouldn’t appear in both the review and the score at the bottom.

    Hope my constructive criticism is of help!

  2. Avatar

    I also like this game. What really brought it down was the expectations for it. Sure, it’s absolutely not as good or groundbreaking as the previous games in the franchise, but it’s still a very enjoyable game. I went ahead and 100% the main game and the dlc, with all the achievements. The multiplayer was also surprisingly good. I managed to play a little on a few kinda populated servers back when I played this game.

  3. Avatar

    Glad you liked the game. You should consider trying Duke Nukem 3D and see how that games. I liked that the game had a bunch of the good interactable stuff like the first game, but I think what it mainly missed the mark on the level design of that game, which was much less linear in comparison. That difference is most likely what made the reviews so mixed for the game, even if it’s not that bad in its own right.

    1. supersven

      I have played Duke Nukem 3d when I was around 7 or 8 for the first time! I played it a lot on steam, believe there will be a review in the future!

  4. DonCarlos

    Nice review! This game really isn’t as bad as many says, it is actually pretty good. The game only suffered from technological breakthrough, with many game engine changes, and arising expectations. The prince is here, the humor is here, graphic is not bad too. Still old Duke Nukem was far more dynamic.

    „Time to kick ♥♥♥ and chew bubblegum…
    And I’m all out of gum.„

    1. supersven

      indeed, Duke Nukem forever could have been way better. I think it was mainly rushed when all problems were solved.
      I am still waiting for the new Duke Nukem game…..

    1. supersven

      Yeah, but who is the absolute best :P? I really love this game, and off course once again I completed the adventure for this review.
      I can dream of the water temple!

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